Ambulance-vehicle.



R. W. D. LESLIE & G. A. CHILD.

AMBULANCE VEHICLE.

APPLICATION HLED DEC.Z8| I916.

1,223,592. 2 Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R. W. D. LESLIE & G. A. CHILD.

AMBULANCE VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28. I916.

1,223,592. Patented Apr. 24,1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

R. W. D. LESLIE & G. A. CHILD.

AMBULANCE VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28. was.

7 1 ma 4 m r m A 0% E4 n m ow P $MWMM R. W. D. LESLIE 62, G. A. CHlLD.

AMBULANCE VEHlCLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28, 191s.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

'4 SHEETSSHEET 4 dfimma Wm yew-e Qfm 6w ji /4m www gag/M UNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTGE.

ROBERT WALTER DICKSON LESLIE, OF LONDON, AND GERALD ALFRED CHILD, OF

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND.

AMBULANCE-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

Application filed December 28, 1916. Serial No. 139,430.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT WALTER DIGKSON LESLIE and GERALD ALFRED CHILD, both subjects of the King of Great Britain a and Ireland, and residents of London and Southampton, England, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Ambulance-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ambulance vehicles and refers more particularly to motor ambulances of the gangway convertible type. Ambulances of the kind' referred to are adaptable to receive stretcher cases, usually in tiers, or patients in a sitting position. One of the objects of the present invention is to construct and arrange the parts so that the upper tray may be lowered, to receive the patient/and then raised for transit,

and may also be folded back against the side walls of the ambulance when adapting the same for sitting patients. A further object is to construct and arrange the parts so that the bottom stretcher trays, while comparatively low to receive stretchers, will cause, when folded back, padded seats to be automatically moved to an improved position for sitting. i

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the interior of an ambulance showing the invention applied.

Fig. 2 is an end view of said ambulance.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section view of an ambulance body showing the top stretcher tray in the raised position.

Fig. 4: is a corresponding view to Flg. 3,

40 but with the top stretcher tray lowered ready to receive a stretcher;

Flg. 5 1s a detall v ew correspondlng to Fig. 2, but showing'theinvention applied to an ambulance body havinga narrow gangway.

Fig. 6 shows a detail of a modified form of top tray support.

Referring to the drawings the body a of the ambulance is formed somewhat after the usual manner, the floor having a gangway I) with raised sides 0, 0. Above the raised sides of the gangway are arranged the lower stretcher trays 0?, cl hingedly connected at c, e to the side walls of the ambulance and normally overhanging the gang? way. Upon the front of the trays d, downhanging supports f are pivotally connected at g and adapted to fit into suitable sockets h in the floor of the gangway when the tray is lowered.

The stretcher trays d are of awidth suflicient to receive the stretchers and are padded or upholstered on their undersides. Below each stretcher trayd is a seat 2' hingedly connected thereto at j, by means of the exten sions or links 70, and also to the raised side of the gangway by means of a series of links Z. The seat is usually about two thirds the width of the tray and is padded or upholstered, said padding, or upholstering, being Isleeper or thicker at the inner edge than the Above each of the stretcher trays cl is a second or top stretcher tray m carried on stanchions, the inner stanchions n of which are pivotally connected to the inner edge of the lower tray d near to each end of the same. Said stanchions n are perpendicular for the greater part of their length, but near to the top they are cranked outward, collars 0 being formed near to the extreme ends p, upon each of which rests the one (free) end of one of the cross bars 9. Said free ends are formed with holes or'eyes to receive said stanchion ends 77 and are detachably secured thereto by pins 7' or nuts engaging holes or screw threads on the stanchions.

The outer stanchions are pivotally connected to a relatively fixed part of the ambulance, the pivots being in aXial alinement with the pivots of the inner stanchions n. Said outer and inner stanchions are the same length and to the ends of the former the cross stays are hingedly connected at If so as to be capable of turning in the plane common to each set. Projections u are formed on the outer stanchions to engage quadrants o fixed to the ambulance walls and said stanchions are so mounted as to act as guides during the lowering operation. If desired springs may be interposed for braking purposes such an arrangement being shown in Fig. 6 in which the stanchion s is provided with a cup shaped recess to receive a spring adapted to press on the quadrants o.

A pawl w is provided on each of the rear outer stanchions to engage notches y in the rear quadrants to retain the tray in the raised position, and, if desired, a series of notches may be provided to prevent slipping back while raising the tray, said pawl 00 being held out of engagement when it is desired to lower the tray.

The front set of stanchions n, s are made slightly longer than the rear ones so that when the tray m is lowered it is sloped at a slight angle toward the back of the vehicle as clearly seen in Fig. 4 and as the cross stays g are set so that the top or tray m assumes a horizontal position when raised, said inner stanchions n, s have then passed beyond the vertical center of the pivot as shown on the left hand side of Fig. 3 so that any weight upon the tray m tends to lock said tray in the raised position.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the stretcher trays d and m are shown in the operative position on the right hand side of the drawings, and the arrangement is such that the seat 2' rests in the gangway, with its inner edge lying in the same vertical plane as the inner edge of the stretcher tray d, while the inner edge of the top tray m is set back somewhat, due to the cranked formation of the stanchions n thereby allowing more room for the attendant. The upholstering on the two parts 0? and i nest together because the thinnest part of the upholstery of the tray is along the inner edge, where the thickest part of the seat upholstery lies, as will be clearly seen from the drawing.

When it is desired to accommodate patients in the sitting position, the parts are moved into the position shown on the left hand side of the two last mentioned figures. To attain this position the pins 7' are withdrawn and the cross-stays g are uncoupled from the front stanchions n when the tray m freely folds, on the hinge t, against the side wall of the ambulance body. The front stanchions n and the depending legs 7 are then folded on to the lower tray (I. Said stretcher tray (Z is then raised carrying with it the rear or outer edge of the seat 2", whose front or inner edge simultaneously moves in a circular path, due to the connecting links Z, the seat 2' thereby being raised'and moved outward until it meets the bottom edge of the stretcher tray, so as to form a seat, in an improved position, which is comfortably padded and has a padded back.

The trays cl, 0? are retained in the raised position by hooks 2, or other fastening means may be used, and it will be obvious that, owing to the outward movement of the seats, more space is provided in the gangways for the legs of the patients.

The top trays are shown folded downward, but it will be obvious that if desired they may be folded upward.

In Fig. 5 is an end view showing the invention applied to an ambulance body in which the gangway is comparatively narrow. In this construction the details are as before described except that the lower stretcher tray d and seat 2' are arranged to lie above the gangway.

What we claim is 1-- 1. In ambulance vehicles, a vehicle body, a stretcher tray hingedly connected to the vehicle body and on one side adapted to serve as a tray and on the other side adapted to form a seat back, a seat adapted to lie below said tray when lowered, links connecting said seat to said tray, further links connecting said seat to the vehicle body, the said links when the tray is raised imparting a vertical movement to the seat while holding it horizontal, a further stretcher tray above the first named tray and means for supporting said tray, said upper tray-supporting means allowing of the tray being raised and lowered bodily in the arc of a circle, and also allowing of the tray when in the raised position being folded against the vehicle body, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In ambulance vehicles, a vehicle body, a stretcher tray hinged thereto, a seat hingedly connected to said tray, links connecting said seat to a fixed part of the vehicle body, a superimposed stretcher tray, cross bars revolubly mounted below said second tray, swinging stanchions to which said ,cross bars are attached, means to support the tray in the raised position, and hinged means to permit said tray to be folded ,against the wall of the vehicle, substantially as described.

3. In ambulance vehicles, a vehicle body, a stretcher tray hinged thereto, a seat hingedly connected to said tray, links connecting said seat to a fixed part of the vehicle body, a superimposed stretcher tray, cross bars revolubly mounted below said second tray, swinging stanchions to which said cross bars are attached, the front stanchions being longer than the rear stanchions, quadrants fixed to the wall of the vehicle, projections on the outer stanchions engaging the quadrants, and means to retain the tray in the raised position, substantially as described.

4. In ambulance vehicles, a vehicle body, a stretcher tray hingedly connected to said body, one face of which is adapted to form a seat back, a seat which lies below said tray when the tray is lowered, links connecting the seat to said tray, further links connecting the front of the said seat to the vehicle body at points below the rear of the seat, a further stretcher tray above the first named tray, swinging stanchions pivotally connected to the vehicle body near the rear edge of the lower tray, means for hingedly connecting the outer side of the tray to the upper end of the said stanchions, horizontal cross-bars extending below the tray and hingedly connected to the upper end of the said stanchions, means below the tray for hingedly connecting the tray to the cross rods, further stanchions supporting the cross rods and tray on the inner side of the tray, said stanchions being pivotally connected to the lower tray, and said cross rods being detachably connected to said stanchions, quadrant guiding means adjacent to the stanchions and means on the stanchions adapted to automatically engage the said quadrant guiding means and support the tray in the required position, substantially as herein set forth.

5. In ambulance vehicles, a vehicle body, a stretcher tray hingedly connected to said body, one face of which is adapted to form a seat back, a seat which lies below said tray when the tray is lowered, links connecting the seat to said tray, further links connecting the front of the said seat to the vehicle body at points below the rear of the seat substantially as herein set forth.

6. In ambulance vehicles, upper and lower stretcher trays, hingedly connected in position, seats hingedly connected to the lowermost trays, hinged supports for the fronts of the seats, stanchions for supporting the top trays capable of swinging longitudinally, guides for the outer stanchions and means to support the trays in the raised position, together with means to retain the top and bottom trays in the folded position, substantially as described.

7 In ambulance vehicles, upper and lower stretcher trays hingedly supported in position, stanchions to support the top trays, said stanchions being pivotally connected on either sides of the bottom trays and the inner sets of stanchions being cranked at the top, seats hingedly connected below the bottom trays, the top of said seats and the undersides of the trays being padded and upholstered, substantially as described.

8. In ambulance vehicles, upper and lower stretcher trays hingedly supported in position, swiveling stanchions to support the top trays, quadrants inter-engaging said stanchions, pawls on said stanchions adapted to engage notches in the quadrants, swing seats below the lowermost stretcher trays adapted to be drawn upward and outward when the lower trays are raised, substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT WALTER DICKSON LESLIE. GERALD ALFRED CHILD.

Witnesses:

HARVEY J. BAUERSTOCK, CHARLES PACK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

